“Don't you feel alive / These are your times and our highs”
Last Saturday, as part of the record label ‘Spirit of Spike Island’ tour, Manchester’s Pastel went on second at the Islington Assembly Hall. They left all-conquering heroes!
It’s rare for a burgeoning band to leave everyone talking about the as-yet-unreleased songs of the set. However, in ‘Running On Empty’ and ‘Soho’ they did just that. Frontman Jack Yates vocals, sent from heaven, stoned, flood the senses with The Verve circa ‘The Verve’ and ‘Voyager’. Angelic with the ability to step off the power and let everything swirl around him in a t4echnicolour haze. Meanwhile, lead guitarist Joe Anderson was cementing his place as the heir to Nick McCabe’s throne. Anderson’s celestial majesty conjured a druggy vortex the like of which have not been seen since their Wigan peers’ triumphant Glastonbury return in 2008.
The latest single ‘Escape’ brought a tear to many an eye. They combine the slide guitar beauty of ‘Space and Time’ with the scenic psyche soundscapes of ‘Blue’ and the bugged-out melancholy of ‘Virtual World’. The UK scene has never lacked meaning. It’s full of great polemic. What it has missed as the industry raced to the bottom, is a band willing to shun indie’s immediacy in the hunt for success. Pastel hadn’t forgotten! They have existence and it’s theirs to share!
It was a set of so much power, one in which where you leave knowing the world just changed. Despite this, they still had moments of great brevity spliced in. ‘Blu’ pulls in the delicate immediacy of DMA’s Matthew Mason and Johnny Took’s guitars whilst still striving for their own swirling splendour.
Pastel, despite their trippy sonic, looks like a band of brothers. The gang mentality in all fronting up the stage is reminiscent of Oasis's run to glory. Looking great, all in a line, demanding everyone’s attention! Jack Yates, has that mystical Bobby Gillespie appeal and knows when to refrain and allow his band to shine brightest. A gang, a collective, they rock ‘n roll in arts purist form.
